Outdoors in the DMV - Exploring the U.S. Botanic Garden and Capitol Hill

At our next Outdoors in the DMV event we will explore the U.S. Botanic Garden, followed by a short pleasant walk around Capitol Hill, and brunch at a popular neighborhood restaurant.

Outdoors in the DMV

Outdoors in the DMV is our periodic event series, which explores the many beautiful parts of the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) related to art, architecture and history, combined with the things that we love—food and drinks.

Explore the U.S. Botanic Garden

The U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG) on the grounds of the U.S Capitol in Washington, D.C. is one of the oldest botanic gardens in North America.

The U.S Botanic Garden is rooted in the nation's heritage and vision of its founding founders. During the late 18th century, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison shared the dream of a national botanic garden and were instrumental in establishing one on the National Mall in 1820.

A painting of the U.S. Botanic Garden from 1874

The garden was initially located to the west of the Capitol Grounds, from First Street to Third Street between Pennsylvania and Maryland Avenues and functioned until 1837. The garden was opened again to the public in 1850, and has remained in continuous operation since then.

U.S. Botanic Garden

The U.S Botanic Garden moved to its current location in 1933, a complex located along the north and south sides of Independence Avenue bordered by First Street and Third Streets, SW. It includes the Conservatory, the National Garden and Bartholdi Park.

We will do a tour of the Conservatory which highlights the diversity of plants worldwide—from tropical rain forest to desert plants.

Walk around Capitol Hill

After our tour of the Conservatory, we will do a short pleasant walk around the U.S. Capitol, heading in the direction of the Library of Congress and Supreme Court, towards our Capitol Hill neighborhood restaurant for brunch.

The West façade of the Library of Congress in 1898

We will walk around the Library of Congress which is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States.

The Library of Congress which serves as the research arm of Congress was established April 24, 1800, when President John Adams signed an act of Congress providing for the transfer of the seat of government from Philadelphia to the new capital city of Washington.

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, in both shelf space and number of books. It contains research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 450 languages.

Brunch

We have selected Capitol Lounge a neighborhood fixture which draws lots of Hill staffers and is known for its good variety of beer. They offer brunch on the weekend with a good selection of food items on the menu list.

Capitol Lounge

Note: We don't have a reservation for brunch and hence there could be a waiting period before we get seated for brunch.

Event Details

Event: Exploring the U.S. Botanic Garden and Capitol Hill

Description: Exploring the U.S. Botanic Garden and Capitol Hill.

Date/Time: Saturday August 5th, 2017 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM

Admission: Free / Grapes & Grains members must RSVP

Tentative Schedule

11:00 am - 12:00 pm - U.S. Botanic Garden (Tour of the Conservatory)

100 Maryland Ave SW Washington, DC 20001

1:00 pm - 2:30 pm - Brunch at Capitol Lounge
229 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington, DC 20003

References

The United States Botanic Garden website



Article Category: Events